Let down by the U.S. Congress (3 letters)

Protesters display placards during a demonstration in front of the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 3 urging Congress to end the federal government shutdown. (Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images)

The American public wants and needs a Congress that will honor its commitment to represent its constituents, but what we have is a collection of spoiled and pampered political animals whose only desire is to curry favor for re-election.

The budget is what keeps the American government working. Voting against a temporary budget is voting against the same government which empowers Congress. If the members of Congress wonâ€™t work for the American people, they have failed in their sworn oaths.

Ask anyone if they refuse to do their job, how long they would remain employed. By that measure, Congress should be released from duty, along with any and all benefits, and be replaced by a new Congress.

Steve Fox, Denver

This letter was published in the Oct. 7 edition.

America was founded on an exceptional premise â€” the sovereignty of the people. Within the framework of that founding ideal, a â€śgovernment shutdownâ€ť would have been inconsequential unless occurring during a time of great national crisis, such as a war. Unfortunately, this is no longer true. Our federal government, no longer constraining itself to the limits imposed by the Constitution, has grown so enormous and intrusive that itâ€™s intertwined into virtually every area of our lives. It now has the power to hold the nation hostage, something the founders would find incredible.

It wasnâ€™t supposed to be this way. Shame on â€śWe the Peopleâ€ť for letting things get to the point where those who were supposed to be our servants have become our masters. This is what the founders feared was the greatest danger to the republic, a greater threat than any foreign enemy. Unfortunately, their fears have become reality.

Don Larsen, Broomfield

This letter was published in the Oct. 7 edition.

Our rights and privileges as U.S. citizens are being threatened. With powerful lobbyists and large donations, select few individuals and organizations are being favored by our legislators and administration. Without budgets and sensible spending constraints, our tax dollars are foolishly and recklessly spent. Laws are selectively enforced and modified and the balance of power between branches of government is ignored.

Do not honor or reward incumbents by re-electing them. Their successors will be aware of our displeasure and hopefully give us the government to which we are entitled.

God bless America and secure the blessings of liberty to all. Remember we are the boss.

Jack Lintz, Littleton

This letter was published in the Oct. 7 edition.

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The branch of Congress you need to address is the US Senate…EVERY CR sent there from the House has NEVER been put up for a vote. The Senate has NOT passed a budget in 5 YEARS!!(Even though they are obligated to do so by the US Constitution)

peterpi

The House Republicans pass a CR approving funding, if and only if Obama declares himself to be “Fink in Chief”, and if and only if Obama apologizes for running for public office — and even worse, winning — and if and only if Obama swears never to leave Chicago ever again.
The Senate Democratss say “Over our dead body”.
Republicans everywhere then scream that the Senate Democrats are obstructionist and won’t approve a budget.
Yeah, right.

IBXNJ

“Give in to all my demands, WITHOUT CONDITIONS and then I’ll listen to your ideas on how to improve health care coverage” Barack Obama…

thor

“Fink in Chief” Another pete over-statement. But never embarrassed for posting things like that. Bravo.

peterpi

That’s what you think of him.
Besides, my point is, you call anyone who doesn’t roll over at the mere utterance of a Republican demand obstructionist.

thor

What i think of the President is not anywhere near what you think it is and even though we have had this battle before, you only believe what you want to believe. As far as who is the obstructionist, to you its the Republicans and to me its the Democrats. But no one gets a pass like Harry Reid.

tomfromthenews

“…you only believe what you want to believe,” said the pot to the kettle.

peterpi

Nailed it.

thor

Correct. Now, would you do me a favor and use that bit of wisdom from tom instead of the tired things like “Republicans do the same thing” that you overuse all of the time.

thor

Refreshing bit of wisdom. Who are you quoting?

peterpi

Your defensive shields are remarkable.
He’s quoting you. He’s saying you engage in the same behavior as the people you criticize.

thor

pete, you often have your defensive shields up, but do I point them out? And if I do, then you have every right to respond in your defense. What I find interesting is that you often act like I missed what someone is, with great effort, trying to say. I seldom miss the point. What you seem to miss is my witty reply where I turn their remarks back on them. For example, if I ask tom who he is quoting, I want him to know I’m on to him. And he didn’t directly quote me, but used a popular saying to point out that “I should talk.”

peterpi

He directly quoted you. You used that phrase.
And there is nothing to be “on to”.
He nailed it.

thor

I have never used “said the pot to the kettle.” I bet you cannot go back and find anywhere that i have used those words. And if i did say, “you only believe what you want to believe,” and both of you remember that, I’m flattered. Thanks for hanging on to my words. You have my permission to use them.

Steve R

All we want is to give people and companies a choice as to whether they want to enroll for health insurance for another year. After all the president has provided this same option to a number of his major donors. We all know the game, Obamacare only works if you have a large number of young people enrolled who will pay for care and not use it. What a great plan…freaking idiot!

peterpi

All insurance companies rely on people having insurance, paying premiums, and either not using it or using it only a little.
And, … that’s NOT “all you want”.
Now Boehner is threatening to send the government into default unless more programs are cut. None of his favorite programs, of course.
Negotiation through extortion.
How many more “all we wants” are you guys preparing?

guest

Read your history. The UK became a constitutional monarchy by Parliament using the power of the purse to check the monarch’s power. Now for some reason the Democrats find that it is illegitimate to use the power of the purse and characterize it as extortion. It isn’t.

reinhold23

It’s extortion because they’ve threatened to do harm to the country in order to get what they want.

guest

Who is actually doing the threatening? The Republicans have sent over CRs for what both the Executive and the Congress can agree on. The Democrats have taken the position of everything or nothing. I do believe it is the Democrats who are threatening to do harm to the country if they don’t get what they want. Perhaps we should get Putin to come in and mediate with this administration.

reinhold23

As I understand it, the CRs are regarding the shutdown. I’m talking about the debt ceiling.

peterpi

The Republicans have stalled for so long, they’re now using the shutdown as a means to extort more over the debt ceiling.

guest

I don’t think so. I’ve mentioned it before but the national debt hasn’t moved at all since May 31. It would seem to me that the debt ceiling probably should have been brought up in June, but the Administration wanted to bring the debt ceiling up at the same time as the budget. I think they felt that this would pressure the Republicans because people such as yourself would see the two as mixed together. Rather than the Republicans using this as a means to extort more, this is a tactic by the Democrats to try an claim the Republicans want to shutdown the government and default on the debt if the Administration doesn’t do everything they want.

peterpi

Nope. The Republicans’ CRs are “We’ll fund the government, but only if you accede to our demands. Nobamacare!!!”

MD

Correct! No patriotic American, let alone patriotic Congress would threaten to harm our country and its people if he/it doesn’t get what a vocal minority (the Tea Party) wants.

guest

Nor should any patriotic American, let alone a patriotic president threaten to harm our country and its people if he doesn’t get exactly what he wants with absolutely no compromise at all allowed.

MD

Really? He did compromise, big time. But I guess you missed it. The resolution at the root of this latest crisis includes keeping the current sequestration-level funding that the President, and the Democrats object to as too low. However, they reluctantly agreed to the Republican funding demand in order to avoid a government shutdown. So why can’t the Republicans see that they won, and stop the shutdown. Nope. They moved the goal posts, making demands ranging from de-funding to delaying related to the Affordable Health Care Act, which is the law.

guest

The sequestration was an agreement made between the Democrats and Republicans back in 2011. It was to reduce the level of spending and was valued over a 10 year period. So you are saying that they are compromising by not going back on that agreement? Actually you appear to be saying it was a big time compromise that the Democrats will actually do what they agreed to two years ago. It sounds as if that the people who are moving the goal posts are Obama and Reid.

MD

The bottom line is that it was a huge concession, yet virtually ignored, buried under right-wing rhetoric. Just how many concessions should a duly-elected administration make to the party that lost the 2012 because of the very ideology, basically the Romney platform, that the American people voted against?

It’s evident that the corporate-sponsored agenda of the Tea Party extremists targets undoing nearly every major piece of legislation passed over the last eight decades to protect the middle class, the elderly, the sick, and the poor. And the right believes the administration should just go along with this?

guest

There is no bottom line to that. The Democrats want to spend more money but you have a sequestration in effect that cut both social spending and military spending (where the Republicans would like to spend more money).

Governing means compromising. So far, BHO is the president who has compromised the least with the other side of any president in the last 30 years.

Okay, now why don’t you show me bills brought up in the House that target nearly every major piece of social legislation passed over the last eight decades? Please be specific.

Tbone

The senate passed a budget in April. So tired of correcting stupid lies.

IBXNJ

The Senate has not had a VOTE in 7 days and the House had 26 votes WHO is NOT doing their job????

Yes, and the House members also held some 40 votes to repeal Obamacare. Guess it’s their job to waste time voting against law rather than do anything constructive. Come to think of it, what has the House done that can be considered of value to our nation’s well-being?

MD

If Congress is so keen on voting on CRs (with strings attached), why does Boehner refuse to put ending the shutdown with a clean vote on government funding? Could it be because he’s afraid it will pass, and anger the Tea Party minority, and thereby losing its billionaire funding in 2014?

Robtf777

“The American public wants and needs a Congress that will honor its
commitment to represent its constituents, but what we have is a
collection of spoiled and pampered political animals whose only desire
is to curry favor for re-election.”

“Ask anyone if they refuse to do their job, how long they would remain
employed. By that measure, Congress should be released from duty, along
with any and all benefits, and be replaced by a new Congress.”
=============

There’s a reasonably good chance that most of those Senators and Representatives will, once again, be re-elected to office when they come up for re-election.

Why? Because, in most cases, the voters who vote Democrat blame the Republicans in Congress that they didn’t vote for……and the voters who vote Republican blame the Democrats in Congress that they didn’t vote for.

Most people don’t blame THEIR Senator or Representative…..the ones they actually voted for and who are in Congress……but the “other guys and gals”……from other districts withing their own state…..those from the other 49 states……and those who belong to the “other party.”

So…..chances are…..unless something “weird” happens……most of the Senators and Representatives who are in Congress on Oct 7,2013……will still be in Congress in Jan 2015.

The “throw the bums out”…..virtually only apples to “the other guys and gals”…..”in the other districts/states”…..”in the other party”……and never to “my own” in “my district/state” that belongs to “my party”…….and that plays out in almost all the every 435 districts and all 50 states across the US…….so…..come Jan 2015……almost everything will be almost the same.

While some changes WILL occur……if history is any guide…..the majority of those who seek re-election…..will be re-elected……and 90% of the problem will still be members of Congress.

peterpi

Good post.
“It’s not my congressperson! It’s all those other bums!”

johnrpack

My representatives are definitely part of the problem. But until enough others are willing to say no to both the Democrats and Republicans — who will be forced to do whatever their caucus tells them to do — then the problems will continue.

Robtf777

“God bless America and secure the blessings of liberty to all. Remember we are the boss.”
===========
Nice sentiment…..the “God bless America” part. However…..many pastors and rabbis and members of churches and synagogues who actually READ their Bibles and Torahs……..look at what God SAYS……and what America DOES……and finds fewer and fewer reasons “why” God SHOULD “bless America”……and more and more reasons “why” God just turn His Back on a nation that has turned its back on Him.

As far as “we are the boss” idea……the Letter Writer had just mentioned “God”…..who is The Most High “Boss”……because “we” don’t control where floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes will strike.

“We” are something like 200,000,000 “bosses”…..which doesn’t work. When there are 200,000,000 cooks in the kitchen…….each of who thinks they are a “boss”……we end up with what we got: A dis-functional Congress……..Trillion-Dollar Annual Deficits…..and a $17 Trillion National Debt that ain’t nearly enough………

…………..AND…..come Nov 2014…….the 200,000,000 “Voters/bosses”……are probably going to re-elect 90% of ALL the Senators and Representatives who will be up for re-election…….which means that come Jan 2015……90% of the “problems” in Congress will be reporting back to work……thanks to the “we” who put them back in office.

peterpi

“and more and more reasons ‘why’ God just turn His Back on a nation that has turned its back on Him”
Now you’re channeling Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell post-9/11. And the televangelist who said hurricanes in FL and/or LA were because of gay pride parades.
Close to 3,000 people dead in 9/11. Buildings destroyed or damaged. A plane deliberately driven into the ground in PA in an act of self-sacrifice to prevent a greater harm. Police officers and fire officials killed and injured. And all because your God got his (we know your God is male) feelings hurt.
Scores of people dead and hundreds injured by hurricanes, tens of thousands left homeless, thousands of homes destroyed, hundreds of businesses damaged or destroyed. And all because your God doesn’t like a certain class of people partying.
Sad.
And, it sure sounds like, instead of 200,000,000 bosses — what we quaintly call a “democracy” — you want one boss. One person who can lead all of us according to what your God wants. One person who has God’s ear. Gee, that sounds like a theocracy. But how do we “know” whom the Theocrat in Chief will be? Because once we find him — I doubt your God would find a “her” suitable — and anoint him, the TIC will have absolute power. So, we have to choose carefully. And there are so many contenders, and they all disagree on what God wants.
200,000,000 bosses is messy, inefficient, clumsy. But it sure beats everything else.
And, God as most people see Him/Her, does not go around slaying thousands, causing enormous suffering.
9/11 was caused by human beings. Hurricanes are caused by natural forces.
And, regardless of whether Obama or Romney had won the last presidential election, “we, the people” made the choice. Not a select few people with exclusive insight into God’s mind secretly making a choice for us, choosing someone we have no knowledge of.

thor

For once all the letters have one theme: Everyone in Congress is guilty. And they are!

johnrpack

Shutdown? When nearly 90% of the federal government is still operating as usual, and we’re still spending ourselves further into debt, and the employees who aren’t working are already guaranteed their full salary for days missed. Sounds like a paid vacation — not a shutdown.

guest

From what you see on these boards, not only is the Senate not voting on the 26 items of legislation sent over to them from the House, the Democrats on these boards don’t even know they exist. It’s really sad they are so ill informed.

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